What If
by 101wuzup1
Summary: What if Ponyboy had a girlfriend? Would she be able to stop Johnny, her and Ponyboy's best friend, from dying? Or would Johnny and Dally die anyway? I am terrible at summaries! Rated T just in case for violence. Please read!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Outsiders anything from the movie or book. **

**Chapter One**

Ponyboy Curtis and Bobby walked out of the theater with brilliant smiles on their faces. Ponyboy had one arm slung lazily over Bobby's shoulders. Don't worry Bobby is a girl. Nobody knows what her real name is. Not even Bobby. Her parents abandoned her when she was five years old for no reason. They just up and left. Bobby's friends never talked about it because they knew it was a sensitive subject with her. She had survived on her own for most of her life and that had definitely toughened her up but it was still hard for her to talk about why her parents left her. So ever since her friends found her scrounging around for food they had called her Bobby. And that included her steady boyfriend Ponyboy. Ponyboy was fourteen years old like Bobby. He had greasy brown hair like her. Except hers isn't greasy. She doesn't like putting grease in her hair, even if she is a greaser. But it doesn't matter because she is drop dead gorgeous anyway. Her hair is long, wavy, and light brown. She usually wears it up to keep it out of her eyes. Her eyes are pale blue and they stand out on her tan skin. She is one of the prettiest girls in their neighborhood. All of Pony's friends tease him about her and ask him where to get some of that love potion he must have smuggled her. Ponyboy is about two inches taller than her with green-gray eyes. He loved going to movies and reading books, which is why he is so smart. In fact he has already moved up to high school a year early. That is why Bobby likes him so much. Because unlike the other boys they hang out with who start fights and rob stores for fun, Ponyboy is creative and sensitive and an all around better person than the others.

They walked down the street, talking about the movie, when they saw the red mustang drive up behind them. "Uh oh," Ponyboy whispered under his breath.

Bobby tensed up. "Just act cool," Pony said.

He took his arm off of her shoulder in case they had to run. But he still hovered protectively close to her. One of the Socs in the car threw a beer bottle out the open window and shouted, "What's up grease balls!"

Bobby's cheeks burned. Not with embarrassment but with anger. She had a very hot temper. "Relax." Pony breathed in her ear.

His voice soothed her slightly but her hands were still clenched into tight fists. The mustang drove off and the two teenagers sighed with relief. But no sooner had Pony put his arm back around Bobby's shoulders than the car swerved back around and cut off their path. Four Socs got out and grinned maliciously at them. "Run!" shouted Ponyboy.

They spun around and sprinted in the other direction. Bobby heard the older guys running behind them and she tried to run faster. But her lungs burned and her legs screamed in protest. One of the Socs grabbed her arm and threw her on the ground. The others did the same to Ponyboy. The two greasers tried to jump back up but the Socs had pinned Pony down on the concrete. The Soc that had grabbed Bobby picked her up and held both her tiny wrists in one hand. "You're pretty cute for a greaser." he muttered.

Bobby struggled but his grip was too tight. She could smell the cigarette smoke on his breath and gagged. She glanced at Pony. He was writhing on the ground, trying to free himself from the Socs grip. But there was four of the big, mean Socs and only two of Pony and Bobby. Bobby knew they didn't stand a chance. One of the Socs flipped out a switchblade and held it to Ponyboy's neck. "We're gonna give you a haircut Greaser," he said with a smile, "We are going to cut off all of that greasy hair of yours!"

He put the blade closer to Pony's neck and a small stream of blood ran past it. Pony cried out in pain. Bobby kneed the Soc that was holding her and he grunted in pain. He released her for half a second and she ran over to the guy with the blade and punched him square on the mouth. He fell off of Pony, but the guy that Bobby kneed grabbed her arm and punched her in the face. She stumbled to the ground where she lay, dazed. She heard people shouting and felt them running around her. Then she remembered Ponyboy. She sat up and knelt over him. "Pony," she whispered, "Pony are you alright?"

He sat up. His face was pale, he looked scared to death and he had blood running down under his chin. "I'm fine." he said, his voice cracking on the last word. He turned away from her and rubbed his eyes. She rubbed his arm. "It's okay Ponyboy." she murmured.

She looked around and saw that their friends were chasing off the Socs. Darry, Pony's oldest brother, ran over and knelt down on the other side of him."You alright Ponyboy?" he asked.

Pony nodded. Sodapop, Pony's other older brother ran over too. "They pull a blade on you?" he asked.

"Yeah." Pony whispered.

Soda put a hand on his shoulder. "Listen," he said, "They ain't gonna hurt you no more."

Pony nodded but was still quiet. Darry looked up. "They hurt you Bobby?" he asked.

She shrugged. "One of them hit me but its nothing." she said nonchalantly.

Pony looked up too. "They hit you?" he asked.

Bobby saw the look in his eyes change from fear to anger. "It's nothing, Po," she said again.

Pony took a deep breath and stood up. Johnny, Ponyboy and Bobby's best friend ran over. "How you doing, Pony?" he asked.

"I'm fine." he said steadily. He seemed to be getting over the close encounter.

Bobby laced her fingers through his and felt his hand shaking. She squeezed it and he stopped. She saw Two-Bit and Steve walking over. She was also surprised to see Dally who was supposed to be in jail for the next ninety days. He came over and clapped Pony on the back. "Thanks for the excitement," he said, "I was starting to get bored."

"What are you doing out of the cooler, Dal?" Johnny asked

"I got out early, good behavior you know."

Soda walked over and leaned on the car. "Hey Dally, me and Steve are gonna take Sandy and Evie to the game tomorrow. You want to bring Sylvia?"

"Can we come?" Pony asked.

"No kids allowed." Steve said with a smirk.

Bobby rolled her eyes. Dally grinned and shook his head. "Naw, I was thinking that I was going to go catch a movie. Kids are allowed." He winked at Pony.

"We'll come." Pony said looking at Johnny and Bobby. They both nodded.

Darry sighed. "I can't," he said, "I've got to work."

Two-Bit smiled. "I was planning on drinking a couple six-packs of Bud tonight but if I don't get too drunk I'll join you."

"Cool," Dally said, "Meet me at the corner of Picket and Sutton tomorrow at six."

He jumped over the fence and jogged off to his car. Darry walked into the house and over his shoulder he said, "Ponyboy, you got homework."

Ponyboy groaned and walked up to the porch. "Where are you two headed?" he asked Bobby and Johnny.

Johnny shrugged. "I'm gonna head to the park and chill there for a while." Bobby said, "Come by when you've finished your homework."

"Alright see you then."

Pony walked into the house and Johnny stood up and followed Bobby to the park.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two **

The next day, after they went to see the movie with Dallas, Ponyboy, Bobby, and Johnny walked to the vacant lot and looked at the stars for a couple of hours. Bobby always looked at the stars at night and she knew about a lot of cool constellations. She would sometimes show Pony and Johnny when they were hanging out at night. They were lying on the grass. Bobby had her head on Pony's shoulder and she was pointing at the bunches of tiny lights. "There is the big dipper," she said pointing up at the sky, "And there is the little one."

"I can't see anything," Johnny said.

"I see it," Pony said, "There is the handle and there is the bowl part."

"Show us another one," Johnny asked.

Bobby smiled and twisted her head, looking for another constellation. "There," she said pointing to the left of them, "is a mama bear and her cub."

"No way there are bears up there." Johnny said incredulously.

"Sure there are look. There is the head. And the body behind it. And you can see the baby right below it."

"How do you see all of these?" Pony asked.

"Whenever I can't sleep I just look at the stars and try to make different shapes." she said with a sigh, "And if I am lucky I can see a shooting star."

"I've never seen a shooting star." Johnny said.

"I have," Pony whispered, "Me, Darry and Soda used to go out to the country with our parents. There are so many more star there than there are here."

He closed his eyes, thinking about the times his family had gone to the country. He thought about all the stars and thought about how much Bobby would like it there. It was quiet and there were no lights to block out the pin pricks of light in the sky. Suddenly someone shook his shoulder. "Pony!" she shouted, "Pony wake up!"

"What?" he shouted bolting upright.

He looked around and saw that Bobby was the one shaking him. Johnny was sitting up looking around too. "What time is it?" Pony asked.

"I don't kow, I fell asleep too." Bobby said, "You better get home before Darry call the cops on you."

Pony cussed under his breath and jumped up. "You coming Johnny?" he asked.

"No, my parents are fighting. I think I'll stay all night out here."

"Alright but if you guys get cold, you come on over to my place." he said.

"Sure." Bobby said.

Pony leaned down and gave her a quick kiss goodnight and ran off toward his house. He peeked in the window and saw Soda asleep on the couch. Darry was sitting on the chair reading the paper. Pony sighed, resigning himself to his fate. He opened the door and Darry stood up, throwing the paper on the ground. "Where the heck have you been?" he shouted, "Do you know what time it is?"

Pony shrugged. "It is two o'clock in the morning." Darry growled.

All the yelling had woken up Soda and he rubbed his eyes sleepily. "Hey Ponyboy, where you been?" he asked quietly.

"I fell asleep in the lot." Pony said walking to the bathroom.

"I was talking to Bobby and Johnny and I fell asleep in the lot. I didn't mean to."

"What were you thinking?" Darry shouted, "I told you to start using your head. And I can't even call the cops on you because you two would be thrown in boys home so fast it would make your head spin."

Soda stood up and walked over to the stairs. "Give him a break Darry," he said.

Darry rounded on Soda. "And I am sick and tired of you always sticking up for him!" he shouted.

"Don't you yell at him!" Pony shouted back.

Darry spun around and smacked Pony so hard he flew back against the door. They were all frozen for what felt like an eternity. "Pony..." Darry started.

Pony spun around, wrenched open the door and ran out into the night. He could hear his brothers calling him but he didn't turn around. He just kept running. He finally made it to the lot where he found Johnny asleep and Bobby still staring at the stars. She looked up when Pony ran up to them. "Come on," he said breathlessly, "We're running away."

Bobby shook Johnny awake and they all ran fo about a mile before they stopped. Pony looked like he was about to cry. "You got a cigarette Johnny, I'm scared to death." he choked out.

Johnny held out a weed. Pony took it and lit it with shaky hands. "Pony what happened?" Bobby said, putting a hand around his shoulder.

"Darry hit me!" he muttered, "I swear we used to get along fine before Mom and Dad died now he can't stand me."

Bobby leaned her head on Pony's shoulder. "It will be alright Pony," she said, "Don't worry."

Pony took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. "Let's walk to the park," he said, "Maybe I'll cool down by then."

"Okay," Johnny said, looking relieved.

They walked down to the park and climbed onto the monkey bars. They sat up there for a while. But after a few minutes Bobby saw something come into her peripheral vision. "Oh no," she moaned, "Look."

The boys looked up and saw a blue mustang. "This is our territory." Pony said, "What are they doing here."

Johnny was breathing heavily and his eyes were wide. "Johnny?" Bobby asked.

"T-those," he stammered, "are the guys that jumped me."

Bobby's temper flared. "This is the fight I have been waiting for."

"Are you kidding?" Pony said, "We can't take them. Maybe if we had Dally or Two-Bit but not by ourselves."

"So do you want to split?" Bobby asked, trying to calm herself down.

"It's too late," Pony whispered as the Socs walked toward them.

"Hey would you look at this greaser group." one of them said.

His friends laughed. The three greasers jumped down from the monkey bars and watched the Socs carefully. They stopped a few feet away. "Hey you know what a greaser is?" the guy in front said, "White trash with long, greasy hair."

Bobby took a step forward, but Ponyboy grabbed her arm and held her back. She sighed and stepped back. "You know what a Soc is?" Pony asked, "White trash with mustangs and madras." Then to emphasize his point, he spit in the Soc's face.

The three greasers ran as fast as they could away from the Socs. But they weren't fast enough. Two of them grabbed Ponyboy and one each grabbed Johnny and Bobby. Bobby heard them beating up on Johnny and she tried to get away but the Soc just threw her on the ground and started kicking her. He kicked her hard in the gut and knocked the air out of her. Then he picked her up and started punching her over and over in the face. She heard people shouting and the sound of water splashing but she was starting to pass out. She saw spots of color blinking in front of her eyes. Finally she collapsed on the ground. "And stay down!" the Soc yelled.

He went off to join the others who were beating Ponyboy. Bobby fought to stay awake. She looked over and saw Johnny reach into his back pocket and pull out the switchblade he had carried ever since he had been jumped. He stood up and walked slowly over to the Socs who had Pony. They were dunking poor Ponyboy's head in the fountain. He came up each time gasping for air. Bobby's eyes widened. These drunk Socs were going to drown him! She pushed herself to her feet and ran over to them, screaming "Pony!"

Suddenly all the Socs scattered and ran back to their mustang. "He's crazy!" they shouted, "That greaser is crazy!"

They left Pony on the side of the fountain soaking wet but alive. He was breathing heavily. Bobby ran over to him. "Pony," she sighed when she saw that he was okay.

He looked at her, his eyes fluttered and he fell asleep. Bobby looked at Johnny and was surprised to see one of the Socs was still there. Then she saw the look on Johnny's face. "What's wrong Johnny?" she asked.

He looked at her, his face white with terror. "I killed him." he breathed.

Bobby glanced back at the Soc and saw the pool of blood growing bigger around him. The smell of the blood ran up Bobby's nose and her vision swam. "Johnny," she whispered and she lay her head down on Ponyboy's chest and fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

A while later she felt the ground moving. "What?" she asked trying to sit up, but her head throbbed so much she just laid it back down. "It's just me Bobby," Pony whispered.

"Ponyboy," she said, "You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. You look terrible though. That guy had a lot of nerve to hit you like that."

She felt his body shivering. "Are you cold?" she asked.

"Yeah."

A few seconds later Bobby sat up. Her head still hurt but it was starting to feel better. Pony was watching her. "If I ever get a hold of that guy who punched you he'll never jump anyone again." he hissed.

Bobby smiled and hugged him. "What's wrong Johnny?" Pony asked.

Bobby's eyes snapped open and the stench of blood filled her nostrils again. Her stomach turned and she squeezed her eyes shut again and hugged Ponyboy tighter. She heard Johnny and Pony talk for a second before Pony shoved her off of him and ran off to the swings. She heard him retching and the sound of vomit splattering on the ground. She tried to ignore it and hold back her popcorn from the movies. She got up and walked over to Pony. Johnny followed her. "You really did kill him, huh, Johnny." he choked out. He looked like he was close to tears.

"I had too," Johnny said, kneeling down on the ground and pulling up dirt and grass absently, "They was drowning you. And they were gonna beat me and Bobby to death."

He wiped the switchblade on the grass to clean of the blood. Bobby sat down next to Pony. "What are we going to do?" she whispered.

They all looked at each other and she knew they were thinking the same thing. Dally.

They all ran to Buck Merrill's house. Dally said that Buck was having a party and that was where he was going to be. They knocked on the door and a few seconds later Buck opened it. "What?" he asked.

"We need to talk to Dally." Johnny said. Pony and Bobby were standing together shivering. They had their arms around each other but Pony was still soaking wet and that made them both even colder.

"Dally's busy right now." Buck said. He sounded drunk.

"Just tell him it's Johnny, Ponyboy and Bobby he'll come!"

Johnny shouted.

Buck closed the door. The trio walked over to one of the windows and went to see what Buck was doing. He walked back into some room they couldn't see and came back out with Dally. They rushed back over to the door just as it opened. "What is it?" he asked.

"Johnny killed a Soc." Pony said.

"Alright good for you." Dally said flatly.

"Look, man I'm sorry we got you away from this party," Johnny said, "but we need you to help us get out of this."

Dally saw that they were all really scared and he looked around at the party. "Okay come with me." he said.

They followed him into the house and back into Buck's bedroom. "Pony are you wet?" Dally asked.

Ponyboy nodded. "Take that shirt off," Dally scolded, "You'll catch pneumonia before the cops get you."

Pony pulled the wet shirt off and Dally tossed him a towel. Dally rummaged around in the drawers and threw Pony a dry shirt. Then he pulled out a gun and loaded it. "Here," he said handing it to Johnny, "Don't point it at me it's loaded. Here is fifty bucks. Look I'm not itchin' to be the one to tell your brother about this and get my head kicked in."

"Then don't tell him." Pony muttered.

Dally sat down on the bed and gestured for them to lean in closer. "Get the 3:15 train to Windrixville. It's a freight. There's an abandoned church on top of Jay Mountain. There is a pump in the back so you don't have to worry about water." He lit a weed before he continued, "Get a week's supply of food, as soon as you get there, this morning before the story get's out. And then don't so much as stick your noses out the door. Am I clear?"

They all nodded. He sighed. "I'll be up there as soon as I think everything is cool. Relax."

He patted Johnny on the back. The poor kid was still shaking. "Man," Dally said, "I thought New York was the only place I would get caught up in a murder wrap."

He handed Pony his leather jacket and they walked back through the house and out the door. "Take care of yourselves." Dally said, "Good luck."

They walked back to the lot before Pony stopped. "What's wrong?" asked Bobby.

Pony looked at her sadly. "You can't come with us." he said.

She was silent. "Why not?" she finally asked.

"Because I don't want you to get in trouble from this too." He looked like he wanted to say anything else rather than what he was saying right now.

"Don't be a hero Pony," Bobby said, "I'm in this just as much as you are."

"No you ain't. Johnny killed that guy because he was drowning me. That means I am part of the problem. You aren't."

Bobby's face paled. "I'm sorry," Pony said miserably, "I couldn't bare it if you got in trouble for my stupid move."

Bobby looked like she was on the verge of tears. But she blinked rapidly. "Well if that's what you think is right." she whispered.

She turned to walk away but Ponyboy turned her around and wrapped her in a tight hug. Johnny mumbled something about getting a head start and walked of a ways to give them some privacy. Pony rubbed Bobby's back. "I love you." he whispered in her ear.

"I love you too." she mumbled into his chest.

He kissed her and jogged over to Johnny. Bobby stood, frozen in place, until they were gone from view.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Johnny and Ponyboy hopped onto the train and rode all the way to Windrixville. When they got off they asked some of the farmers where Jay mountain was. As they climbed up the steep hill, they saw the church. It looked like it hadn't been used in decades. When they walked inside an owl flew over their heads. They lay down on the hard, cold floor. "Johnny," Pony said quietly, "You okay?"

But Johnny was already asleep. Pony adjusted himself and soon he was asleep as well.

When he woke up a few hours later, Johnny was gone. "Johnny?" Pony called.

He looked down and saw a note written in the dust that said Johnny had gone to get supplies. Pony rubbed his face and stood up. He remembered Dally saying something about a pump. He walked out back and rubbed some of the water onto his face. Suddenly he heard someone walking up the mountain. Pony ran and hid under part of the church that looked like a cellar. There was a long low whistle followed by a sudden high note. That was the greaser way to say, "Who's out there?" Pony saw Johnny walk by his hiding place, holding a bunch of grocery bags, and he ran out to meet him. He stumbled over his feet and landed with a thud on the ground. "Hey Johnny," he said, propping his head on his hands, "Fancy seeing you here."

"You're getting to act more like Two-Bit every day." Johnny said with a smile.

"Who's acting?"

"Come on," Johnny said, looking around, "Dally told us to stay inside."

They ran back into the church and set the bags down on a table. "What did you get?" Pony asked eagerly.

Johnny began to take stuff out of the bags and set them on the table too. "We got a loaf of bread, and a week's supply of baloney here. Some peanut butter."

Pony reached into the bag and took out a book. "Gone with the Wind!" he said excitedly, "Johnny how'd you know I wanted this?"

"I remembered you saying something 'bout it once. Me and you went to see that movie remember. Thought maybe you could read it out loud, help kill time or something."

Pony smiled. "Thanks a lot Johnny."

They reached back into the bag and took more of the stuff out. "Deck of cards." Pony said setting that on the table.

He took out a small bottle and read the label. "Peroxide?" he asked.

Johnny looked at him and something clicked in Ponyboy's mind. "Johnny, you ain't thinking-"

"We're gonna cut our hair Ponyboy," Johnny said, "You're gonna bleach yours. They'll have our descriptions in the paper and we can't fit 'em."

Pony shook his head. "Oh no, you ain't gonna touch my hair."

"It's gonna get cut anyway if we got caught. You know the first thing the judge does is make you get a haircut."

"I don't see why." Pony muttered.

"Me neither. Guess it's their way of breaking us."

Johnny walked behind Pony and flicked out his switchblade. Pony jumped. "I'm going to cut mine off too and wash all the grease out." Johnny said sadly.

"No, sir," Pony said, "You ain't touching my hair."

"Ponyboy it's gonna grow back," Johnny assured him, "It's not like it won't."

Pony sighed and turned his back to him. "Go ahead." he mumbled.

Johnny hesitated and grabbed a handful of greasy brown hair. Then he started sawing back and forth with his blade. "Ow!" Pony shouted.

"Sorry, man." Johnny muttered dropping the hair on the ground.

It took about an hour for Johnny to get enough hair off that he didn't look as much like Ponyboy but to still make it look half-way decent.

"Can I see now?" Pony asked.

"No, we gotta bleach it first."

"Well than bleach it, quit cutting."

They poured the peroxide onto what was left of Pony's hair and he sat in the sun to let it dry. When it was done, Johnny went hunting around for something reflective. He finally found an old, broken mirror and brought it back for Pony to see. His hair was almost white and it was cut so that his ears stuck out. "Wow this really makes me look tuff." he muttered sarcastically.

Johnny sighed and handed him the blade. "Alright," he said, "Go ahead. Get your jollies."

Pony smiled. "My pleasure." he said.

"Yeah, I know it is."

Pony got behind Johnny and started cutting off his black hair. "Ouch!" Johnny yelped.

"Hurts don't it." Pony said smugly.

When they were done, Johnny washed the grease out and they went back into the church. They sat around staring at the ceiling for a while. Both of them were depressed that they had to cut their hair but they would have cut it all off if it would erase what happened last night. Suddenly Pony was overcome with emotion. "I'm still tired." he croaked.

Johnny looked at him. "I'm sorry I cut your hair off Ponyboy." he apologized.

"It's not that." Pony said, "I don't know, I'm all mixed up. I miss Soda and Darry and Bobby. Oh, God

I miss Bobby! She looked miserable when I told her she couldn't come with us last night. I wish more than anything that she could've."

Johnny put an arm around him. "Hey you know that little one-horse store this morning." he said with a forced smiled, "I was thinking ol' Two-Bit could've walked out with half of it. Remember how he was goofing around last night at the movies?"

Pony gave a watery laugh. "Just last night we was walking home from the movies with Dally, Two-Bit and Bobby. Just last night we was laying out in the lot, looking up at the stars, trying to see those constellations."

"Oh stop it man! Will you shut up about last night!?" Johnny shouted, jumping up.

He walked around the table and leaned against the wall. "I killed a kid last night!" he said, "He couldn't have been more than seventeen maybe eighteen years old and I killed him! How'd you like to live with that, huh?"

He sat down and bit his knuckles. "I didn't mean to," he said, "They was drowning you and I didn't know what to do."

Ponyboy walked over to him and put his arm around him. "There sure is a lot of blood inside of people." Johnny said.

"What are we going to do?" Pony whispered.

"Oh man this is my fault for bringing a thirteen year old kid along." Johnny said, standing up again,

"You know you outta go home Ponyboy, you can't get in any trouble, I mean you didn't go on and kill him!"

"No!" Ponyboy said jumping up, "I'm fourteen, I've been fourteen for a month! And I'm in this just as much as you are! I'll stop crying soon. I can't help it."

He covered his face in his hands and sobbed. Johnny put a hand on his shoulder. "I didn't mean it like that Ponyboy." he said, "Don't cry. Don't cry, man."

He grabbed him in a huge hug. "It'll be all right."Johnny whimpered, "It's gonna be fine."

They stood up and walked over to the furnace. Ponyboy sat down and Johnny laid his head down on his lap. Soon they had both fallen asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

They spent the next couple of days reading Gone with the Wind. Every once in a while they would get a little homesick but they didn't cry anymore. About four days after they had first gotten to the church, early in the morning, Johnny and Pony were asleep on the rotting benches. Pony heard someone walking around in the church. "Gosh he looks different with his hair like that," a familiar voice said.

Pony sat up and saw Dally looking at him. "Hey Dally," he said.

"Hey Johnny, rise and shine." Dally said, shaking Johnny awake.

"Hey Dallas," Johnny said sleepily.

"How's Soda doing? Is he pretty upset?"

"Are the fuzz after us? Did you hear anything?"

"Wait one thing at a time," Dally said, "You guys hungry? You want to get something to eat? I'm starving."

"Your starving, try baloney for four days." Johnny said.

Dally laughed. "Hey, you got a cancer stick Johnny?" he asked.

Johnny reached into his pocket and handed him a cigarette. "I've got a special delivery," Dally said as he lit it, "for a Ponyboy Curtis."

He handed Pony a piece of paper. "Who's this from?" Pony asked.

"The president of the United States. You brother, stupid!"

"How did he know I was here?"

"I told him I didn't know where you were but he didn't believe me. He wanted me to give you that."

Ponyboy unfolded it eagerly and read it.

_Well I guess you got into some trouble, huh. Darry's awfully sorry he hit you. You know he didn't mean it. Dallas got hauled into the station scared us something awful. I wish you'd come back and turn yourselves in. We miss you. Especially Bobby. She hasn't slept in days and she barely talks to anyone. She looked almost as bad as she did when we first found her after her parents left. Anyway, say hi to Johnny for us._

_Sodapop Curtis_

"Hey Dally, what's goin' on with the cops man? You hear anything?" Johnny asked.

"How come you got hauled in?" Pony asked, trying to ignore the part about Bobby.

"Those boys down at the station know me by now." Dally said, "While I was there they kind of beat it out of me that you guys were, get this, that you were headed for Texas. They think you guys are in Texas. "

Pony laughed and stood up to stretch. Dally smiled. "Look at this guy with his hair man, I can't believe that." he said.

Ponyboy rolled his eyes. "Yeah I know I look lousy but don't rub it in." he muttered.

"Oh I almost forgot," Dally said, "I got something for you in the car. You can go check it out I need to ask Johnny something."

Pony nodded and walked out of the church. He walked over to the car that Dally had driven here and opened the door. He looked around for whatever Dally was talking about. "What are you looking for?" someone said behind him.

Pony stood up so fast he slammed his head on the roof of the car. He whirled around and saw Bobby standing there smiling. She giggled nervously. "Bobby!" Pony shouted happily.

She hugged him tightly, burying her head in his neck. "Hey kid." she mumbled.

"I missed you so much." Pony choked out. He was almost in tears.

Bobby laughed and pulled away so she could look at him. "What did you do to your hair?" she asked.

"Johnny said we had to make ourselves look different so the cops wouldn't recognize us. Do you like it?"

She hesitated. "Do you want the truth or the answer you want to hear?" she asked.

"The answer I want to hear."

"That is the coolest looking hair I have ever seen." she said with a smile.

Pony laughed. It was then he noticed how sick she looked. She was white as a sheet and she had dark circles under her eyes. He remembered what Soda had said in his letter. "Are you okay?" Pony asked, "You don't look too good."

Bobby's smile slid off of her face and she looked at the ground. "It's nothing." she mumbled.

Pony put a hand under her chin and titled her head up so that her eyes met his. She sighed.

"Remember when you first found me when my folks left?" she said.

Pony nodded. "You looked like a lost puppy that was about to throw herself under the first bus that came along."

She took a deep breath and nodded. "Well when you left," she continued, "it brought back a lot of memories. Bad memories. I felt like you were going to leave me like they did."

Her voice broke an she closed her eyes. Pony was speechless. He remembered the look on her face when he had told her he didn't want her to come and he realized what she heard those words as. He wrapped his arms around her. "I love you Bobby," he said, "I love you and I will never leave you like they did."

She sighed happily. They heard Dally and Johnny coming out of the church and quickly composed themselves. "Hey you guys wanna get something to eat?" Dally asked.

Pony smiled at the thought of food other than baloney sandwiches. "You better believe it." he said sliding into the car after Bobby.

Dally took the hood off of the convertible so they would be driving in the open air. "Where'd you get this car Dal?" Johnny asked after giving Bobby a quick hug.

"Buck lent it to me."

He started up the car and sped down the mountain to the nearest Dairy Queen. Bobby yawned and laid her head down on Pony's lap. Soon he could hear her deep, rhythmic breathing. Dally looked back and grinned. "She hasn't slept since you guys left." he said.

Pony nodded. They got to the Dairy Queen and Pony and Johnny both got barbecue sandwiches. They stuffed their faces while Dally filled them in on what was happening back at home. "That Soc you killed had a lot of friends. It's all over town, Soc against Grease. Look I started carrying a heater man."

He pulled a gun out from his back pocket. "Dally, you kill people with heaters." Pony said.

"Don't worry, it ain't loaded." Dally assured him.

They ate their food in silence for a few minutes before Dally continued. "Tim Shepherd's gang and our outfit are going to have it out with the Socs in the vacant lot tomorrow night." he said. He looked around the tiny town. "What do they do for kicks around here, play checkers?"

He snickered at his own joke. "We're going back to turn ourselves in." Johnny said suddenly.

"What?" Dally said.

"I got a good chance of being let off easy," Johnny said, "It was self-defense. Pony and Bobby could testify to that. And we won't say that you helped us I'll give you back that gun so you won't get in any trouble Dal."

Dally stared at him. "Are you sure, this is what you want to do?" he asked.

"Yeah I'm sure! Look it ain't fair for Darry and Soda worryin' about Ponyboy all the time. I don't guess me parents are worried about me."

"Hey man the boys are worried about you!" Dally said, "You know Two-Bit wanted to go to Texas to hunt for you!"

"Dal, I asked if my parents asked about me." Johnny said doggedly.

Dally sighed. "No they didn't ask about you. So what, you think my old man gives a hang if I'm dead in a car wreck or drunk or in jail or something. He doesn't care. But it doesn't bother me none."

All the yelling had woken Bobby up. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"We're gonna turn ourselves in." Pony said.

Bobby looked at him. "Are you sure?" she said.

He nodded. She sighed. "Well to tell you the truth I'm glad." she said, "I really missed both of you guys."

"See," Dally said, "See how worried the gang has been about you. Don't worry about you folks. We are your family."

"I'm still going to turn myself in." Johnny with finality.

Dally sighed and turned the car back on. "I get you this hideout. I get you a hangout, man, a hideout. Look at this, now you want to split."

They drove back to the church in silence. Finally Dally said, "Johnny, you don't know what a few months in jail can do to you man. I just don't want to see what happened to me happen to you. Understand?"

Johnny didn't answer. They turned the corner and the church came into view. Bobby gasped. It was in flames.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

Their were a bunch of people clustered around the church. "What's going on?" Johnny said.

"Wonder how that started." Pony said.

They drove over to the church and before the car even stopped, Pony jumped out and ran over to the church. "Pony where you going?" Johnny called.

Pony heard Bobby groan and Dally shouting at him but he didn't care. He remembered all the smokes they had in the church and knew they had probably caused the fire. Most of the people surrounding the church were kids. Only a couple were adults. One lady ran over to the other adult. "Jerry," she said, "some of the children are missing!"

Pony heard someone scream inside the church and bolted inside. _It's our fault, it's our fault, it's our fault!_ he kept thinking in his head.

He heard Johnny running behind him. "Is that guy coming?" he called over his shoulder.

"No." Johnny called back.

"Why not? Too scared?"

"No, too fat!"

Pony laughed in spite of the situation and coughed on all the smoke. They checked everywhere for the kids. Finally Johnny found them in the back of the church and called over to Ponyboy. They ran into the room and smashed through one of the windows. Johnny grabbed one of the kids and tossed him out the window. Pony tried to do the same but the kid bit him. He grabbed her carefully and put her outside as gently as he could. Dally and Bobby ran back there to help and grabbed some of the kids through the open window. Finally all of the kids were out. But the roof was about to cave in. A piece of burning wood fell onto Ponyboy's arm and caught it on fire. Dally pulled him out and laid on it to smother the fire. Pony heard Johnny scream and saw Dally run back in to get him. "Johnny," he murmured.

Bobby sat down next to him. "It's okay Ponyboy." she said.

Bright lights blinked in front of Pony's eyes. He closed his eyes and fell into deep unconsciousness.

When Ponyboy woke up, he heard sirens. The cops, he thought vaguely. He tried to remember what had happened. The church. Something about the church. And Johnny. Suddenly it all came back to him. The church was on fire. Him and Johnny had gone in to save the kids. But something happened with Johnny. And Dally. "Johnny. Dallas." Pony said, trying to sit up.

"Whoa easy there." Bobby said pushing him gently back down.

"Bobby?" Pony asked, "What's going on?"

"We're in an ambulance. They are taking you to the hospital."

She sounded worried. "What happened?" Pony asked.

"After you and Johnny saved those kids a piece of wood caught your arm on fire. Dally pulled you out and put out the fire. But a big piece of the ceiling fell and hit Johnny in the back. The paramedics think it is broken." she took a deep breath before continuing, "Dally went in to drag him out and the roof caved in. They got out fine but Dally's arm is burned real bad."

Pony could tell she was keeping something back. "Is Johnny going to be okay?" he pressed.

"They don't know." Bobby said quietly, "Look Pony you should really get some rest. The doctors said that you inhaled a lot of smoke and you should sleep until we get to the hospital."

She pushed his hair off of his forehead and sighed. "Don't you ever do something like that again," she scolded him half heartedly, "You scared me half to death."

Pony grinned and fell asleep for the rest of the ride back.

Back at the hospital, Bobby and Pony sat in the lobby. Jerry, one of the grown ups back at the church, was with them too. Pony took out a cigarette and lit it. "You know you shouldn't be smoking son." Jerry said.

Bobby snorted. Pony looked at him. "Why not?" he asked.

"Because your a young man, that's why. It's a bad habit to get into."

"Your smoking."

"I'm smoking, I'm older than you are. I've been smoking for a long time."

Pony ignored him. Bobby yawned and laid her head on his shoulder. "You should sleep." Pony said to her.

"Are you kidding? I can't sleep knowing the state Johnny's in. I'm just resting."

They sat like that for a while. Suddenly the door opened and Soda walked in. Bobby lifted her head off of Pony's shoulder and elbowed Pony. He jumped up and hugged his favorite brother. "Hey, Ponyboy!" Soda said happily, "Oh look at you tuff hair!"

Darry walked slowly through the door. "Ponyboy..." he said.

Pony ran and hugged him too. "Darry I'm sorry!" he sobbed.

Darry was crying too. "I thought we lost you like we did Mom and Dad." he said.

He looked at Pony and gave a watery laugh. "You sure look funny." he said.

**I know it is short but it seems like a good place to end the chapter. Please review! I hope you like it so far! **


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

They drove Bobby home and she slept on their couch that night. Ponyboy was so tired that Darry had to carry him inside. The next morning, Pony got up first. Apparently Darry and Soda hadn't been getting much sleep for the past couple of days and they were still dead asleep when Pony woke up. He was quiet as he walked out to the kitchen. Bobby was still asleep.

He started breakfast. The rule in their house was that the first person to wake up had to make breakfast and the other two had to do the dishes. Usually it was Darry making breakfast and Soda and Pony did the dishes. Pony cracked some eggs on a skillet. They all liked eggs for breakfast. Darry had coffee with his and Pony and Soda had chocolate milk. They also had a slice of chocolate cake each. Each night they would check the icebox to make sure they had enough and if they didn't Sodapop would make one real quick. "Anyone home?" someone called in trough the door.

"In here," Pony replied, "Don't slam the door."

Of course they slammed the door anyway. Pony grabbed a couple of eggs just as Two-Bit and Steve came in and grabbed him around the middle, spinning a him around. One of the eggs slipped out of Pony's hand and splattered against the wall. He gripped the other one too hard and it broke in his hand. "Look what you did!" he exclaimed, "You made me break my eggs, drop my spoon."

Two-Bit laughed and pointed at his hair. "Look at the blonde headed monkey!" he said.

"I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen his head in the paper." Steve said, "Hey tell me Ponyboy, what's it like being a hero?"

"What?" Pony asked.

"A hero man like a big shot. Beer for breakfast Two-Bit?"

"What I like is the 'turn hero' bit." Tow-Bit said in between gulps.

"They're charging Johnny with man slaughter?" Pony asked, reading the newspaper Steve handed him.

"It also said how you saved them kids Ponyboy." Steve said, "They'dve burned to death if hadn't been for you."

"Boy Dallas'll be mad when he hears they didn't say anything about his police records." Two-Bit said seriously.

"Ain't that the truth."

"It's all about us," Pony said, "Darry, me, and Soda." He read a little more and smiled. "Nothing about putting me and Soda in a boy's home?"

"No way."

"They ain't putting me in a boy's home." Pony muttered.

"Naw Ponyboy they don't do that to heroes." Steve said.

Bobby yawned and sat up. She blinked when she saw all the people in the house. "Morning everyone." she said with a laugh.

Pony smiled at her. Her face was almost back to it's usual color and the circles under her eyes were gone. "Morning sleeping beauty." he said walking over to give her a kiss.

"Hey where is Soda and Super dope anyway?" Steve asked.

Just then Soda walked out of the shower with a towel around his waist. And Darry walked out of his room and picked Steve up then dropped him back on the ground. "Super what?" he asked.

"All brawn no brain." Steve muttered.

"Darry have you seen my DX shirt somewhere?" Soda asked.

"Hey you gotta where pants too buddy," Steve said through a mouthful of cake, "There's a law or something."

"How about my jeans?"

"Yeah they're in my closet." Darry replied, "Hey hurry up, you're gonna be late."

Pony walked over to Darry slowly. "Hey, you hear about that juvenile court thing?" he asked hesitantly.

Darry nodded. "Cops told me last night." he said.

Soda came out of room fully clothed. "Hey I'll tell you what, after we stomp the Socs real good, me and Steve are gonna throw a party and everyone's gonna get ripped!" he shouted.

"Where you gonna get the money, little man?" Darry asked.

"I'll think of something."

Darry turned back to Pony. "I hate to leave you here by yourself. Maybe I outta stay home today." he said.

"I won't be alone I'll be with Bobby. And besides we can't afford it." Pony said.

"Yeah but, you know I really outta stay."

"Don't worry about it Darry, I'll babysit the lovebirds." Two-Bit said.

Pony jumped on him and tackled him to the ground. But Two-Bit had him in a head lock before he could do anything about. "I gotta quit smoking or I won't make track next year." Pony croaked.

"Say uncle." Two-Bit said.

"Nope."

"I'll cut off your air."

"Two-Bit lay off." barked Darry.

He let go of Pony. "Lazy bum." Pony grumbled.

"Ponyboy," Darry said, "You smoke more than a pack today and I'll skin you. Understand."

"Yeah." Ponyboy said.

Darry, Steve, and Soda shouted goodbye as they ran off to the car. "We gotta clean up the house." Pony said, "Some cops and reporters might come by and besides it's time for the people from the state to come up and check on us."

Bobby groaned. "Yeah I'm with her," Two-Bit said, "Besides this house ain't messy. You should see my house."

Pony laughed. "I have," he said, "And if you had the sense of a Billy goat you'd try and clean up that house instead of bumming around ours."

"Shoot, if I ever did that my mom would die of shock."

"I guess I'll help." Bobby said.

So they did the dishes and tossed come of the clothes that were lying around into the wash. When that was done, they decided to go see a movie before going to visit Johnny and Dally. They walked backwards down the street, hoping to get ride to the movies. "I would drive," Two-Bit said, "but the brakes went out on my car. Almost killed me and Kathy the other night. Man you should meet her brother. Now there's a hood. Man he's so greasy he glides when he walks. He goes to the barber to get an oil change not a haircut."

Bobby laughed but Pony just winced. He had a raging migraine. They finally made it to the movies when the blue mustang pulled up in the parking lot in front of them. "Stay close." Two-Bit said.

"What do they want?" Bobby asked.

"I don't know. How many guys were in the car?"

"Four or five." Pony answered, "Come on let's hurry up inside."

"Wait a minute," Two-Bit said, putting an arm in front of them, "Let's see what they want."

"Why do you wanna see what they want?" Bobby asked.

"Just stay there."

The Socs got out of the car and walked over to them. "No jazz before the rumble." Two-Bit warned, "You know the rules, ape face"

"We know." the guy in front said. He looked at Ponyboy and his tone softened. "I want to talk to you."

Pony looked at Two-Bit. "Go ahead," he said, "I'll keep my eye on him."

He shrugged and followed the Soc. Bobby watched them carefully as they stood by the car and talked. She went on edge when Pony got in the guys car. They talked for a few minutes while Two-Bit talked some trash to the other Socs that had come in the mustang. Finally Pony got out of the car and the Socs left. "What did Mr. Supersoc want?" Bobby asked.

"He's not a Soc," Pony said, taking her hand, "Just a guy who wanted to talk."

"You want to go to the movie still?" Two-Bit asked.

"No. Let's just go see Johnny." Ponyboy said quietly.

They silently made their way to the hospital.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

The walk to the hospital wasn't too far. The doctor let them into the room and they saw Johnny lying face down on a special bed that was made for people with a broken back. They walked in slowly. "Hey Johnny," Two-Bit said.

"Hey ya'll." Johnny croaked.

"How they treating you kid?"

Johnny didn't answer. Two-Bit took out the newspaper they had brought and put it below the bed so that Johnny could see it. "Look," he said, "Got your picture in the paper for, uh, being a hero."

Johnny looked at the paper and took a deep breath. "Yeah that's tuff enough." he said.

They were quiet for a while. "You want anything?" Two-Bit asked.

"The book, man," Johnny whispered, "Can ya'll get me another one?"

Two-Bit and Bobby looked at Pony to see if he knew what Johnny was talking about. "I think he wants a copy of Gone with the Wind so I can read it to him. Would you mind going downstairs and getting one?"

Two-Bit nodded and left for the gift shop. Pony went and sat down on a chair by Johnny's bed. Bobby didn't move. She seemed frozen in her spot. "So," Pony said, "I guess Dal's gonna be okay. Me and Darry, we're getting along real good now."

Johnny made a little hiccup sound and stopped breathing for a second. "Johnny you okay?" Ponyboy asked.

"Oh, yeah." Johnny moaned, "Just hurts sometimes. Usually don't. 'Cause I can't feel anything below the middle of my back. Pretty bad off, ain't I Ponyboy?"

Pony swallowed hard. "No you're gonna be alright kid." he whispered, "You gotta. Couldn't get along without you."

The sadness in his voice was the only thing that could bring Bobby out of her trance. She walked over to Ponyboy and put an arm around him. "I won't be able to walk again." Johnny said, "Not even with crutches. Doc says I busted my back."

"You're gonna be fine." Bobby murmured soothingly.

"You wanna know something," Johnny said to both of them, "I used to talk about killing myself all the time, man, I don't want to die know. It ain't long enough, sixteen years ain't gonna be long enough. I wouldn't mind it so much if there wasn't so much stuff I ain't done yet, so many things I ain't seen or nothing." He stopped and took a deep breath. "That time we were up in Windrixville," he continued, "was the only time I've ever been away from our neighborhood."

Pony sniffed. "Knock it off," he said, "If you get too juiced up the doctor won't let us see you no more."

Just then, the nurse came in. "Johnny," she said, "you mother is here to see you."

"I don't want to see her." he growled.

"It's your mother; she's here to see you."

"I said I don't want to see her. She probably just wants to come down and tell me all the trouble I'm causing. Why don't you just tell her to leave me alone?"

As soon as he finished the sentence he passed out. Pony stood up and Two-Bit walked in. "What's the matter with Johnny?" Two-Bit asked.

"You just can't see him right now." the nurse said.

"Pony is he okay?" Two-Bit asked.

"I don't know." Pony whispered.

Bobby pressed her face into his chest and took a deep breath. "He's alright." the nurse said.

"Look you make sure he gets this." Two-Bit said, handing her the book.

She nodded and they left. Out in the hallway, Johnny's mom was shouting at the nurse. When they came out she rounded on them. "He'd rather see these no good punks than his own mother! You scum!" she shrieked.

Bobby's temper snapped. She lunged at the drunk and she would have beaten her to death if Pony hadn't grabbed her elbows and held her back. "No wonder he hates your guts!" Bobby screamed, "You don't even care about him you drunk! You go straight to hell! You go right to hell!"

She turned her head into Ponyboy's chest and he wrapped his arms around her. She was hyper ventilating and he tried to calm her down. "Shh," he murmured, "Shh, it's okay. Everything will be fine."

She slowed her breathing down and swallowed hard. "Let's go see Dally." she said.

Pony nodded and they walked down the hall to Dallas' room. When they walked in the nurse was grumbling about ungrateful patients. Dally smiled when they walked in. "Hey how you guys doing?" he said, "It's good to see you, man, this place gives me the creeps. I want out."

He got up and walked over to close the door. Then he climbed back into his bed. "Tim Shepherd dropped by. Saw my picture in the paper and couldn't believe it didn't say 'wanted dead or alive' at the bottom. Started rubbing it in about the rumble, man. I hate missing it."

He sat up and stretched. Then he looked at them seriously. "How is he?" he asked, "How's Johnny doing man?"

Two-Bit sighed. "Look, Dal," he said, "I don't know about stuff like this but it didn't look too good. He passed out cold before we left."

Dally looked over at Bobby who was still red in the face. "What's up with you?" he asked.

"I almost beat the tar out of Johnny's mother in the hallway." she said breathlessly.

"Almost?"

"Pony held me back. Good thing too. I probably wouldn't have been allowed back to see Johnny if I killed his mom."

Dally nodded. He laid his head down on the pillow. "We gotta win that rumble tonight." he said, "We gotta get even with those Socs. We'll do it for Johnny!"


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

When they left the hospital, they decided to take the bus home. As they sat at the bus stop, Bobby sat back on the bench in a sort of daze, just staring off into space. Two-Bit paced back and forth on the side walk and Pony sat next to Bobby. Two-Bit looked at him. "You okay, Pony?" he asked. He felt Pony's forehead and neck with the back of his hand. "Man, you feel kind of hot."

"I'm okay," Pony said, "Be a pal and don't tell Darry okay? I'll take a bunch of aspirins when we get home."

"Alright. Darry'll kill me if he finds out your sick and you go ahead and fight anyway."

"Keep your trap shut, he won't find nothing out." Pony snapped.

"You know the only thing keeping Darry from being a Soc is us." Two-Bit said, handing Pony and Bobby their change.

"Yeah I know." muttered Pony.

The bus pulled out in front of them and they handed the bus driver the change as they took their seats. "Tonight," Pony said once they sat down, "I don't like it one bit. Something awful's gonna happen."

They got off the bus when it got to their stop and walked home. "We'll stomp those Socs tonight. Everything it gonna be alright." Two-Bit said.

They walked home and Pony stopped Bobby outside while Two-Bit went in. "What?" she asked.

"You're not gonna fight tonight are you?" Pony asked.

Bobby shrugged. "I want to but you never let me so I guess I'm not."

Pony saw the disappointment in her eyes and sighed. "I'm sorry," he said, "But I hate seeing you in that kind of trouble. I know that you can take care of yourself but I can't risk it. Especially tonight. I don't know what it is but I've got a really bad feeling about it."

Bobby nodded. "Then I guess I won't fight." she said.

Pony grinned. "Thanks." he said.

"But I don't really feel like being harassed by the guys about not fighting," Bobby said as Pony opened the door, "So I think I'll just hang out at the park until you're done."

Pony nodded understandingly. She smiled and gave him a quick kiss. "Try not to kill yourself." she said.

"What!" Pony said with mock horror, "That takes the fun out of the whole fight."

Bobby rolled her eyes and with a wave jogged off to the park. Ponyboy walked into the house where all the guys were getting ready for the rumble. Steve and Soda were sitting at the table, arguing about something. Soda slammed his arm on the table and him and Steve started arm wrestling. "You like fights, huh, Soda." Pony said.

"Yeah, I like fights!" Soda said through his teeth.

"How come?"

"It's a contest," he replied, "Like a drag race or a dance or something like that. We gonna beat them Socs heads in ain't we."

"When I get in a stomp all of them!" Steve said, "I like it too!"

The wrestled for a few more seconds before Steve slammed Soda's arm on the table. "How come you like fights, Darry?" Pony asked.

"He likes to show off his muscles." Soda laughed.

"Hey, I'm gonna show 'em off on you, little buddy, you get any mouthier." Darry said.

"Pony, where's Bobby?" Two-Bit asked, "You tell her not to fight again?"

Pony blushed. "None of the other girls are fighting," he said, "Why should she?"

"She ain't like the other girls." Soda said, "You know how close her and Johnny are. You should let her fight tonight."

"I still can't believe she let's you talk her out of it all the time." Steve muttered.

Pony ignored all of them. He wasn't going to change his mind. "Hey Pony," Darry said, "I don't know if you outta be in this rumble either."

"How come?" Pony asked, "I've always come with you before ain't I?"

"Yeah, but, you know, you was in shape before. You know you ain't looking so good. Your tensed up all the time. You know?"

"Come on Darry," Soda said, "Let him fight. Man, everyone's tensed up before a rumble. Skin against skin, he ain't gonna get hurt."

"Come on, I'll grab hold of a little one." Pony said.

"Well, we will need every man we can get." Darry said, "But I don't know."

"Look if it was knives or chains or something it'd be different. I'll be okay."

Darry sighed. "Alright but, you be careful, okay?"

"I will." Pony promised. He looked over at Soda. "How come you never worry about him?" he asked.

"Man, that's one kid brother I ain't gonna worry about." Darry said with a smile, "This kid can use his head. At least for one thing to grow hair on!"

"Let's go!" Soda shouted and they all rushed out the door.

They hollered and shouted, alerting the whole neighborhood to their presence. None of them noticed when Bobby ran into the house when they had left. She quickly went into Ponyboy's room and grabbed a baseball hat. She flipped her hair up so that it was under the hat, and then checked herself in the mirror. She looked like a regular kid. Her clothes were fine and it didn't matter if her face looked female because it was so dark outside nobody would notice. And all she had to do was avoid Ponyboy and the rest of the gang. She took a deep breath. She had never been in a rumble before and she new it was gonna be a rough night.

When the gang made it to the lot, Tim Shepherd's gang was already there. "How you doing Tim?" Darry said.

"Pretty good." Tim replied. He looked at Ponyboy. "You and the quiet kid were the ones that killed the Soc right?" he asked.

"Yeah." Pony said quietly.

"Good going kid." Tim said with a nod, "Curly always said you were a good kid. Curly's in the reformatory for the next six months."

Bobby sneaked unnoticed into the big group of Greasers. She stood in the back waiting for the fight. Just then about five cars started pulling up a few yards away. The Socs got out and walked over to the Greasers. Darry, who stood in front, glanced over at Pony. "The odds are as even as we can get them." he said, "You stay close to me."

The lead Soc walked up to them. "Hello Darrell," he said, "long time, no see."

"Hello Paul." Darry replied.

"What's up?" Tim whispered to Two-Bit.

"They used to buddy around together. Play football." Two-Bit said.

Paul looked Darry up and down. "I'll take you." he said.

Suddenly Dally ran over to them. "No way you're gonna rumble without me!" he shouted as he ran.

Pony glanced at him for half a second and a Soc nailed him in the mouth, knocking him to the ground. Then everything burst into chaos. The sky thundered and it started to rain. One of the Socs ran over to Bobby and grabbed the front of her shirt and punched her in the face. She jumped back up and returned the favor. Everywhere there was Soc against Greaser. Darry and Paul were wailing on each other and Steve and Soda had found a Soc of their own to take down. Dally was even more dangerous than he always was as he smashed a Soc to the ground. Bobby had already taken care of her Soc. He was an easy one. Obviously it was his first time to rumble too. She saw Two-Bit beating up someone too but he wasn't who she was looking for. She saw Pony on the ground getting punch after punch by a Soc that was a little older than him. Bobby ran over to him, forgetting that she wasn't supposed to be there, and kneed the guy in the stomach. He grunted and looked up. She lunged at him and knocked him into the mud, her energy fueled by anger. She pinned him to the ground with her legs and punched him in the face. He got one good shot at her and it sent her hat flying. He hesitated when he saw that she was a girl and in that time she got such a good punch in that he was out cold. She jumped off of him and grabbed her hat, stuffing her hair back under it. Pony was staring at her. She winked and ran into the midst of the fight so he couldn't get to her. By now the rain had turned into a torrential downpour. Some of the Socs seemed to realize that they couldn't win this fight and were retreating back to their cars. Soon more and more Socs came to the same conclusion. They were all on the run twenty minutes into the fight. The Greasers raised their arms in victory, shouting and high fiving. Bobby grinned and laughed. Someone grabbed her arm and she whirled around in surprise. But it was just Ponyboy. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

She smiled. "Fighting!" she shouted over the noise, "I'm sorry Ponyboy but I couldn't help it! I had to do this for Johnny!"

She thought he would be mad but he just smiled and laughed. Dally walked over to them. "You okay?" he asked them.

"Yeah!" Bobby said happily.

Dally stared at her then grinned. "I knew Ponyboy couldn't keep you away from this fight." He looked around then gestured for them to follow him.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Nine**

They ran back to his car and jumped in. He sped down the road like he always did to the hospital. But before they got there, they got pulled over by the cops. "Act sick." he said to Pony, who was sitting in the front seat, "Pretend like I'm taking you to the hospital."

Pony laid his head back on the seat and moaned dramatically. Bobby covered her mouth to keep from laughing. The cop came over to the window and looked inside. "You've got to have a good reason for driving like that." he said, "Where's the fire?"

"Uh, the kid, he fell off his motorcycle," Dally said, "I'm taking him to the hospital."

The officer looked at Pony. "How bad is he?" he asked.

"I don't know man; do I look like a doctor? He looks pretty bad to me."

"Follow me." the police officer said.

When he was gone Dally grinned. "Sucker." he muttered.

The officer gave them a police escort to the hospital. "I was crazy, you know that kid." Dally said on the way, "I was crazy about wanting Johnny to stay out of trouble. If he was smart, like me, he wouldn't have been in this mess. If you're smart, like me, you wouldn't have run into that church."

Pony and Bobby watched him. He had never said anything like this before. "You better wise up Pony," he said, "Get tough, like me, and you don't get hurt. Watch out for yourself and nothing can touch you!"

He slammed his hand on the steering wheel. "Easy, Dallas." Bobby said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

He took a deep breath and was silent for the rest of the ride to the hospital. When they got there, Bobby hesitated outside Johnny's door. "What's wrong?" Pony asked.

She shook her head. "I think I'll just stand out here and wait." she said.

"Why?"

She sighed. "I hate seeing him like that." she said, "He looks so broken. I mean he has always looked breakable but never like this."

Pony took her hand. "It will be okay." he said, "You are one of his best friends. He will want to see you."

Bobby nodded and took a deep breath. They walked into Johnny's room and Dally was already talking to him. "We beat the Socs, man." he said, "We chased 'em right out of our neighborhood. Come on."

"It's useless." Johnny croaked.

"Huh?"

"Fightin' ain't no good."

Dally ran a hand through his hair. "You know, they're still writing editorials about you in the paper. You know about you being a hero."

Johnny was silent and Dally put a hand on his arm. "We're all proud of you buddy," he said, "It's gonna be alright."

"Ponyboy." Johnny whispered, "Ponyboy."

Pony leaned in closer. "Stay gold, Ponyboy." Johnny whispered, "Stay gold."

He took one last shuddering breath before his head lolled onto his shoulder. Dally stared at him. "Johnny come on," he said, "So this is what you get. This is what you get for helping people?" He paused, willing Johnny to respond. But he didn't. "Come on Johnny, don't die." Dally choked out, "Come on Johnny don't die on me now. Please."

He got up and slammed his fist against the door frame. The he looked one last time at Johnny and walked out. Ponyboy and Bobby stood there, frozen. Finally, they walked out of the hospital. They walked all the way home in silence. When they made it to the park, Pony felt Bobby's hand start to shake. He looked at her. She had a straight face but when their eyes met her face puckered and she collapsed on the ground sobbing. Pony had seen her hysterically happy and raging mad. He had seen her depressed and alone. But he had never in his entire life seen her cry. And it scared him. She had always seemed so strong, so indestructible. He knelt beside her and wrapped his arms around her tightly. He didn't bother telling her to relax and to be strong. In fact he didn't have the will power to. Tears ran down his cheeks and he buried his face in her hair. "Johnny can't be dead." she gasped, "He can't die."

Pony rubbed her back and she took a deep breath and pulled away from him. She wiped her tears from face. They had made a clean path through the dirt and grim on her face that had been there from the rumble. "Tell me it's gonna be alright," she whispered, "Lie though your teeth if you have to but tell me it's gonna be alright."

Pony gave a watery smile. "Everything's gonna be alright." he said, "How was that?"

Bobby laughed and kissed him. It wasn't like any of their other kisses. It was sad. When they broke apart, new tears were covering Bobby's face. She didn't bother wiping them away but she did stand up. Pony stood up too and the walked the rest of the way home. When they got there, the gang was looking at themselves in mirror and dressing their wounds. Darry looked up when they opened the door. "Hey where you been?" he asked, gently.

He saw the look on Pony's face and the tears on Bobby's and stood up. "Hey, what's wrong?" he asked.

Pony looked at him. "Johnny's dead." he said simply.

Everyone looked at him. "We told him about beating the Socs," Pony continued, "I don't know he just died. Told me to stay gold."

Two-Bit walked out of the kitchen wide eyed. "Dally's gone." Bobby said, "He couldn't take it he's gonna blow."

They turned around and walked into Pony's room. As they left, Bobby heard Steve whisper, "I don't think I've ever seen that girl cry."

They both lay down on the bed. Bobby's head lay on Pony's chest. She felt it rise and fall as he breathed and knew that Johnny's would never do that again. She closed her eyes and listened to Pony's beating heart. She fell asleep to its steady rhythm.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

She was shaken awake a few minutes later. "Bobby! Wake up!" Pony said, "Dally just called. The police are after him and he wants us to meet him at the park. We gotta hide him!"

Bobby jumped up and off the bed. Pony grabbed her hand and dragged her out of the room. They ran out the door with the rest of the gang to the park. When they were almost there, they heard shouting. "You'll never get me alive!" Dally shouted, holding up the unloaded gun.

The police had surrounded the park and when they saw the gun they started firing. "No!"

"It's not loaded!"

"Don't shoot!"

"Nooo!"

"It's not loaded!"

"He's just a kid!"

They heard a gun fire and saw a figure fall to the ground. They made it just in time to hear Dally whisper, "Pony."

He crawled over to them then fell to the ground, dead. They circled around him. "You stupid idiot!" Darry shouted, "You stupid freak!"

Pony stared at Dally. "Johnny and Dallas..." he whispered.

His knees buckled as he passed out. "Ponyboy!" Bobby shouted, catching him and lowering him to the ground gently.

The next day, Ponyboy had to go to court to defend Johnny. Even though he was dead, they still had to clear his name. Bobby didn't come because she didn't feel very good but Darry and Sodapop came to support Pony. He told the judge what happened from his point of view and one of the Socs told them what happened from their point of view. When that was finished they waited for the judge to come to a decision. "Defendant not guilty." she said, "At this time I will place him in the company of his older brother, Darrell."

They rushed home to tell Bobby the good news. They dropped Pony off at the lot so he could tell her. He found her lying under a tree. "Hey," he said running over.

She looked up and grinned. "How'd it go?" she asked.

"We won. Johnny's innocent and I get to stay with Darry and Soda."

Bobby sighed with relief. "That's great!" she exclaimed.

Pony sat down next to her. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

She shrugged. "Okay I think. I threw up after you left but that's it."

"That's good." Pony said, "I can't handle any more tragedy."

They were quiet for a while. "It's weird how fast things happen." Bobby said, "Only two weeks ago me, you, and Johnny were walking home from the movies."

Ponyboy nodded. He had been thinking about that too. "Sometimes I wish I could go back in time," Bobby continued, "and stop those Socs from jumping us in the park. We would all be sitting here talking about Dally's latest scandal or something."

She rubbed her nose absently. "Come on," Ponyboy said, standing up, "Let's go to my house. It's cold out here and that's probably why you're sick."

Bobby nodded and stood up too. They walked to his house and sat down in his room. Ponyboy sat down at his desk and picked up Gone with the Wind. The nurse had given it to him. She said Johnny wanted him to have it. Pony flipped through the pages and a piece of paper fell out. "What's that?" Bobby asked.

Pony opened it up. "'Ponyboy,'" he read, "'I asked the nurse you this book to finish it. It's worth saving those little kids. Their lives are worth more than mine, they have more to live for. Tell Dally I think it's worth it. I'm going to miss you guys. I've been thinking about it in that poem. That guy who wrote it, he meant you're gold when you a kid. Like green. When you're a kid everything's new, dawn. Like the way you dig sunsets Ponyboy, that's gold. Keep it that way it's a good way to be. I want you to ask Dally to look at one; I don't think he's ever seen a sunset. There's still lot's of good in the world. Tell Dally I don't think he knows. Your buddy, Johnny.'"

He closed the letter and set it on his desk. Bobby ran a hand through her hair. "Ponyboy will you teach me how to read?" she asked randomly.

Pony looked up, surprised. "Why do you wanna know how to read?" he asked.

She shrugged. "I don't know. It just seems like a fun thing to do. I don't want to be dumb my whole life."

"You're not dumb."

"Yeah I am. I might be street smart but I'm definitely not book smart. I want to be smart like you."

He grinned and nodded. "Sure, I'll teach you how to read." he said.

"Thanks." She yawned and laid down on her bed. "I love you Ponyboy Curtis." she whispered before she drifted off to sleep.

He smiled and opened Gone with the Wind. He picked up were he and Johnny left off in the church.


End file.
